FACKLER, Martin L. Colonel USA (Ret). Medical Corps, he was a battlefield surgeon, and the head of the Wound Ballistics Laboratory for the US Army’s Medical Training Center, Letterman Institute. Fackler examined the autopsy report of JS and concluded that:

“The position of the shotgun (under his body) and the lack of gross blood on the front of the white garments that Col. Sabow was wearing at the time of his death make suicide appear, to me, unlikely….”

“The amount of blood, and edema, found at the autopsy in Col. Sabow’s lungs would seem, to me, to indicate that he took at least a dozen breaths after the shot. The structures destroyed by the shot, would seem to preclude this: the autopsy report states “No intact brainstem, including midbrain, pons, or cerebral peduncle is identified.:

“The fact that none of Col. Sabow’s fingerprints were found on the shotgun seems strange to me, but the techniques of fingerprinting are out of my field of expertise. One of the reasons given, however, for the lack of fingerprints – that the barrel gets so hot that any fingerprints on it would be burned off – is simply absurd. This is within my area of expertise: I have handled many shotguns immediately after they have been fired – the barrels are not even hot to the touch.”

“Since no blood went out the back of his head, I would expect more of it to blow back and be over things in the front of him. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the most supportive evidence to support Dr. Sabow’s beliefs.”